Every weeknight, millions of Americans make a ritual of watching other Americans guess letters in word puzzles for a chance at up to a million dollars in cash and prizes. This fun, engaging institution has earned fifty-five Emmy nominations and has stayed among the top-rated syndicated series for more than forty years.

Wheel of Fortune is only the second game show in the United States and one of only nine national entertainment series to have run more than half a century continuously—an impressive feat indeed. I’d Like to Buy a Vowel: 50 Years of Spinning Wheel of Fortune celebrates the legacy of a series ingrained in the American psyche.

People easily recognize its stars and catchphrases such as “I’d like to solve the puzzle. ” But most are unfamiliar about how it has become a success and has managed to maintain that status in the ever-competitive world of television.

Exclusive interviews with participants backstage and in executives’ offices reveal there’s as much drama and excitement behind the show as on air. The book also tells the stories of several winners and memorable contestants on the show, from how they competed to get on the show to what their lives have been afterward.

Be prepared to be amused, surprised and impressed about what is revealed in these pages. Wesley Hyatt is the author of The Carol Burnett Show Companion (2016), Bob Hope on TV (2018) and Betty White on TV (2021), all for BearManor Media.

This is his eleventh book. .